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Main Area and Open Discussion => Living Room => Topic started by: Carol Haynes on January 22, 2016, 11:10 AM
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My main desktop computer has started accessing the internet slowly - other devices on the network don't seem to be affected.
My laptop gets 14Mbps via wireless but my desktop is getting 1.7Mbps via ethernet.
As far as I can see the driver for ethernet hasn't been updated (well there isn't a roll back option).
I did a bit googling and someone suggested disabling AMD QuickStream but I can't find that on my system (AMD processor, mobo and graphics though)
Anyone got any ideas what is going on or how to fix it?
System Windows 7 x64 - loads of memory and fast CPU graphics
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Hm, I got the same thing happening in my household with two Win7-64bit PCs... Maybe it's a UK network thing, or a particular ISP thing, or MS is downloading Win10 for us in the background? But this week internet access crawled to a halt, especially the upload speed...
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Upload speeds seem unaffected.
If it was downloading in the background wouldn't that have a knock on effect for other devices on the network?
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Check out Glasswire (https://www.glasswire.com/) if there's bandwidth being used and you're not sure what's using it. Although from your description that's probably not the issue.
Does your nic give you any control over or insight into how it's talking? Maybe the port (or switch) it's plugged into is having an issue, or it has dropped down to 10mb half duplex or something. Can you move the cable to another port (preferably in a different set of 4 - assuming you have more than 4 ports)?
You could also plug your pc directly into your Internet connection to make sure it's really the PC that's the problem.
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You'll need to find where the bottleneck is occurring - between your computer and the router - or before it gets to it.
Start Taskman and look at the network tab while having the problem.
If the utilization is flooded, something is hogging your connection and you'll have to locate what's doing it.
If it's not flooded you could have a hardware issue with your NIC or possibly something's up with your ISP.
Most times you run into that it's a background process that's the culprit. Downloads running in the back (Like Win10), silent updaters, or "web-safe" type security tools where everything goes through an outside proxy before it hits the web can all do that to you. There's also the possibility that it's a DNS issue. Try flushing the cache and/or selecting a different server for DNS.
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The NIC says it is connected at 1Gb speed
Network isn't flooded - if I close the browser window there doesn't appear to be much traffic happening at all.
Not a problem with the ISP as my phone, internet enabled TV, laptop etc. all report high speeds - just my desktop.
I is connected via a 4 port switch which is connected to the router but I have tried connecting the router direct to the PC and it made no difference at all.
Installed Glasswire Free - can't see anything unusual or suspicious accessing the connection - and no excessive usuage.
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What kind of nic is it? Intel cards used to come with a management tool that let you look at what the speed and duplex were actually running at (as opposed to "auto negotiate").
You could try going into the nic properties and click Configure, then find the speed and duplex setting and hard code it at 1gb, full duplex and see if that changes anything.
Or you could uninstall the device, then reboot to have Windows install it fresh and see if that makes a difference.
If none of that helps, go ahead and run TCP Optimizer (http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php) and have it set up reasonable values for the network stack. Something may have gotten honkled in there.
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Think it must be a hardware issue - I have installed a dual boot copy of Windows 7 and that gives the same readings.
It is a Realtek built in NIC on a Gigabyte mobo
I will try a USB wifi connection and see if that improves things.
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You haven't said but completely remove the NIC driver and install the latest from the Realtek website?
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Just updated the driver - has improved it somewhat to about 5Mb (still not the 14 I get on WiFi).
Maybe it is my ethernet setup.
Until recently my ISP only provided about 6Mbps. So maybe the cabling/switch combos I have are slowing things down.
I have an 11n router (ISP supplied) with 4 ports and three of those posts have 4 way switches attached. Not sure if it is entirely Cat 6 or Cat 5 cabling either. Need to do some checking.
Oddly my Sony TV connection (wired) is faster and that goes through one of the switches and powerline adapters!!!
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What do you get transferring from PC to PC over wired LAN, (with Gb you should get around 50-80MB/s), through just a switch, no router involved ?
Trying to narrow it down by cutting out the unnecessary stuff first.
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First, connections through cables should always be faster than WiFi. If that isn't the case, something is wrong with the cable.
3 ports are occupied with 4-way switches, you say. Given their small size, I assume these are not 'managed' switches. Did you try the 4-way switch with the troublesome device on a different port? If not, swap the device to a different port and see if the problem still exists. Some ports on switches wear out faster than other ones.
There is also this to consider: likely your 4-way switch has 1GByte/sec ports. That means your switch has a total bandwidth capacity of 4GByte/sec when it was new. The quality of the chips used to get to 4GByte/sec bandwidth can deteriorate. After all, it is electronics and not every device is exactly the same.
I have found out that consumer grade WiFi gear and switches vary a lot here in Paraguay. Never liked WiFi as a solution when I still was living in the Netherlands, but here in PY i have learned to hate WiFi with a passion. Even the wired consumer gear isn't always performing as expected. So, I stepped up and spent more on one 'managed' switch with enough ports for now and future needs. It's a Zyxel and I am very satisfied with it.
Reducing the amount of "hops" any LAN or WAN network is always better. Getting one good switch and pulling a cable to a location where you need to use WiFi gear is much more reliable, especially if you stop using consumer grade gear. The max length of a Cat5e/Cat6 cables is 100 meters (after that you need to hook up a switch and from that point you can "travel" another 100 meters, etc.).
I imagine your setup to be like this:
Internet
|
+---------+
| Modem |
+---------+
|
+---------+
| Switch |
+---------+
| | | |
| | |
| | +-----------------------------+
| +----------------+ |
| | |
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+
| Switch | | Switch | | Switch |
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+
| | | | | | | | | | | |
I would suggest the following:
Internet
|
+---------+
| Modem |
+---------+
|
+------------------------------------------------+
| Switch |
+------------------------------------------------+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | |
| | | +-----------------------------------------+
| | +-----------------------------+ |
| +----------------+ | |
| | | |
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+ +---------+
| Device | | WiFi 1 | | WiFi 2 | | Device | etc.
+---------+ +---------+ +---------+ +---------+
While this results in a bunch of cables going from the switch into different directions, it may not be the most visual pleasing solution. But it is much more reliable and when I am watching a monitor that is usually where all my attention is focused on. Could be because I am a male :P
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Thanks - with a bit of judicious rejigging of cables I have got the PC back on 14Mbps
You are right though I need to get the whole mess tidied up!
Thank you everyone for the suggestions - really appreciated.